You’ve set up your tattoo shop, and put your time, resources, and energy into it. But you’re struggling with the most important part: getting clients!
According to IBIS World, 46% of Americans have at least one tattoo. The industry, including body piercing and tattoo removal, is estimated to be worth around $3 billion.
With such a huge market and audience, you begin to wonder what you can do to score more clients? Tattoo shop marketing strategies can be difficult to form and plan for, building a stable client base is every service-based business owner’s dream. But dream on because we’ve got the best tattoo shop marketing for you.
In this age of the internet and networking, you must be able to appeal to the consumer’s needs. You need to spend time and energy learning how to market your business so as to be the “one” for your customers.
So let’s get right to it! Here’s a list of tattoo shop marketing strategies we are going to cover in this blog:
- Get active on your social
- Get listed on Google My Business
- Invest in Print materials and Merchandise
- Increase the value of your offer
- Be more than just a tattoo parlor
- Add credibility to your business with a website
- Create new and captivating content
- Don’t forget to step out
1. Get active on your socials – Instagram and Facebook
This right here is the most sought after, the most popular, and the most crowded idea. Why? It’s simple, social media marketing is the X-factor in today’s business world. It enables you to cover a vast domain with minimum resources being engaged.
These two are the most widely used social media channels nowadays. Here are some tips for you to nail tattoo marketing on these channels:
- Set up your profile and fill in the key details like; location, open hours, and contact details. Apart from this, you need to bring about personalization to your page, you can do that by putting up your branding and logo. Do add your website link in the bio!
- Upload engaging and aesthetic photos of your studio (interior and exterior) as well as pictures of customers getting a tattoo.
- Reels are now a trend-setting option that is captivating and is great to increase your visibility and reach. Getting on the right trend can blow up your profile.
- Post client testimonials so as to increase your credibility and authority.
- Keep posting appealing content and stay consistent, This enables you to attract new clients but also keep the existing ones engaged.
Top tip: Add a “Book Now” button on your pages. A tattoo studio booking software will help you add this button on your Instagram and Facebook pages
Given below is an example of tattoo artist Justin Fulton’s Facebook page. As you can see the strategic placement of the “Book Now” button, will not only prompt the visitors to explore more but also lead to them booking an appointment with Justin Fulton Art studio. The About section gives details about their business and you can see their latest post as well.
Source: https://www.facebook.com/justinfultonart
2. Get listed on Google My Business
Google is the go-to search engine for everyone who is looking for something. How amazing it would be if your business showed up in its top searches!
Get yourself listed on GMB, so that your tattoo studio is visible and shows up on related searches, and lets the searcher know all the key details. Check out this example, the search results of “tattoo studios in Brooklyn” give a list of businesses that have a Google my Business listing.
But you could also convert your GMB listing to a booking engine with Reserve with Google!
RwG enables the searchers to book a session with you directly from Google Search, Maps, and the RwG website. A “Book Online” button appears on your business’s Google listing so your clients can book a session at any time from anywhere.
To get listed on RwG you will have to choose a tattoo scheduling software that can facilitate bookings through Google.
Top tip: Get listed on free online directories like Yelp, Foursquare, Finduslocal, and tattoo studio-specific directories like Tattoocloud, tattooshopfinder, etc.
3. Invest in Print materials and Merchandise
Remember that your work or products are a walking billboard. So how do you promote your tattoo business in a more stylish way?
Promotional items showcase your work, so you should incorporate them in your tattoo shop marketing plan. Not only will it increase your brand popularity but will also help in building better relationships with customers. Now your merch could include:
- Clothing items such as T-shirts, hoodies all feature your branding and your designs.
- Wearables like caps and beanies, to diversify your products.
- Other than that you could give away free goodies like wristbands, posters, etc to your new customers.
The idea is to sell what might appeal to your customers as well as feature your work.
Other than items that you can give away or sell to your customers you could also invest in print materials like:
- Flyers/Leaflets – For tattoo promotion and to promote your shop and new offers or coming events
- Business Cards – To give to your customers or share with other artists at conventions
4. Increase the value of your offer
“Free” is one of the words or sounds which when a customer hears, is drawn towards. With your offer add a free item (when the customer makes a purchase/appointment) like:
- Give an hour free for long sessions, such as if a customer has a 9-hour long session charge for 8 hours.
- Buy an item from the merch store and get a gift card worth $X free.
- With every aftercare product get a poster free.
- Ask your customer for recommendations and offer a referral bonus( a free shirt or aftercare product with their next tattoo). This will encourage them to get another tattoo or bring a new client to your shop.
- Loyalty Cards/Membership cards: This will ensure that you don’t lose your clients to competitors
- You could also put up some tattoo giveaway ideas to increase your popularity.
Basically, the idea is to attract customers with appealing deals.
5. Be more than just a tattoo parlor
People come to a tattoo studio to get a tattoo, but what if you could expand their horizons? How you may ask?
Offer multiple services. The customers will appreciate it if you already have the services that they are looking for other than simply to get a tattoo.
You could incorporate the following ideas:
- Temporary tattoos: let’s say a group of people walk into your studio and some of them are getting a tattoo while some are not ready for such a commitment but seem eager to be part? Well, this is your chance to outshine other businesses, and offer a temporary tattoo for such people.
- Tattoo removal/alteration: this is another one of those things which might help you stay different from other businesses. People frequently get their tattoo removed or need an alteration and you can facilitate that.
- Piercings: set up a small counter in your studio. Sometimes tattoos and piercings go hand in hand, so be that place where your customers need not look any further.
- Aftercare products: every person who has a tattoo needs to take care of it. That’s where you come in, and facilitate the products for your customers. You could also make your own products (another business idea for you) or just sell the ones that are already available in the market.
Now that we’ve discussed some ideas that you can incorporate easily and quickly, let’s discuss a few long-term tattoo marketing ideas
6. Add credibility to your business with a website
As a business owner, you need to have a professional website for your business. Not only does a website open you up to new people, but it also increases your credibility. It is something that pops up as soon as people search for you.
Here’s a checklist that you could follow:
- First, you need to pack your website with your branding. Showcase your style.
- Upload a photo gallery and put up portfolios of your artists.
- Testimonials from previous clients to show your professionalism and accountability.
- Include a contact form for the visitors to generate leads and provide a link to all your social handles.
- You can also sell some merchandise on your website as well as your store. This creates a sense of belonging and would appeal to your clients.
- Do have a CTA for you your visitors to book an appointment, if they decided to get a tattoo
- Now that you have a website, how to get more people to click and visit it?
Well, SEO is the answer. Search Engine Optimization optimizes your visibility online. It is the art of marketing your website on the internet.
With Appointy’s tattoo shop software, make digital marketing of your business easier by adding booking CTAs to your website as well as social media:
- Increase your bookings by being available 24/7. As you are always open for business your customers don’t have to wait until the next day to book an appointment or worse, turn to a competitor.
- Your clients have the convenience of booking an appointment when it’s right for them.
- Reduce your “no-show” rate with automated reminders, as sometimes customers forget to inform you that they won’t be coming and thus you might lose your opportunity for profitable results.
In the long run, this will prove to be the better way to manage your clients, staff, and your business.
7. Create new and captivating content
There are various channels of content that you can harness in your journey. Visual content creates more of an impact. YouTube is one such platform that allows you to do so. You could blast straight to the top of searches with the right tattoo shop marketing promotion ideas for your business.
So what should you do and how can you do that?
- Artistic videos produce short videos or snippets showcasing your designs in a trailer-like feature. This will create a buzz about your style and your business.
- Publish blogs, guides, and articles on your website, to create a community and interact with your customers, followers, or tattoo enthusiasts.
- If you get invited to interviews or podcasts, do not hesitate to go. As this is an opportunity for you to reach out to new customers and let yourself be known.
The more ways you can exhibit your product to the crowd, the greater is the chance that you might win more customers.
8. Don’t forget to step out!
You may wonder why you should engage in industry events for marketing a tattoo shop? Do tattoo shops need marketing at social events?
Whether it’s the commitment of spending time on the convention floor or just the intimidation of attending one, for most tattoo shop owners or artists alike; tattoo trade shows, conventions, and industry events can be an excellent way to showcase your work and expand your customer base.
Some of the biggest reasons to attend these are:
- Networking is key while building your business. Conventions, Trade shows are a huge opportunity for showcasing your work to other people in the industry. You have to understand that this industry is firmly hinged on recommendations.
- Reach Potential Customers and Increase Revenue. These events provide the ideal space to have your business and portfolio exposed to people you would not normally visit your shop.
- Tattoo media publishers, who if you manage to impress would love to include you in their publications.
Top tip: You should also join and engage in communities and forums like fkirons, safe-tattos, lastsparrowtattos to stay relevant and interact with customers and fellow business owners and tattooists alike.
Parting Words
Phew!
Those were some tattoo shop marketing strategies. There are plenty more that you can use to spread the word about your business. The key is to adopt multiple strategies instead of just one.
It can take time but if you plan well in advance your tattoo business marketing strategies, be consistent, improvise and again be consistent and have faith, you will get there!
We hope this blog will motivate you to do what’s right for your business and will assist you to start marketing and help your business blossom more.
Happy marketing!
About Appointy
We at Appointy, help business owners grow and run their businesses with our online scheduling software. This blog was a part of our ‘Manage your Business’ category, where we provide expert tips, and resources, or simply talk about the challenges that small and medium businesses face every day.
If you have any thoughts on this blog or would like to chat about your business struggles and achievements, let us know in the comments below.
We love a good talk!